Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an object information acquiring apparatus. The present invention particularly relates to a technique of mounting an electric circuit including a detector which uses a CMUT probe.
Description of the Related Art
In recent years, research and development of photoacoustic imaging apparatuses which image the inside of a living body using the photoacoustic effect are being conducted. A photoacoustic imaging apparatus applies a pulsed laser beam (laser pulse), which is emitted for a short period, inside the living body, and generates an image from the ultrasound waves (photoacoustic waves) that are generated, during the volume expansion caused by the heat generation, by the biological tissues that absorbed the energy of the pulsed laser beam. A photoacoustic imaging apparatus is undergoing research and development, for example, as a device for observing a person's breast for the early detection of breast cancer.
For detecting the ultrasound waves (photoacoustic waves), a capacitive micromachined ultrasound transducer (CMUT), which is a micro functional element that is manufactured with the micro-machining technique, is being used (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2011-183057). A CMUT is also referred to as a capacitance-type transducer, and is undergoing research as a replacement of a piezoelectric element. When a CMUT is used, it is possible to send and receive ultrasound waves based on the vibration of a vibration membrane, and in particular superior broadband characteristics are exhibited in a liquid. Accordingly, not only can a CMUT be used for detecting photoacoustic waves, it can also be used for sending ultrasound waves and detecting echo waves. Details regarding a CMUT element are described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2009-165931).
Meanwhile, thermal acoustic-type scanning devices which generate images from acoustic waves associated with the thermal expansion in the biological tissues caused by the electromagnetic radiation pulse are also being researched and developed. A thermal acoustic-type scanning device is also undergoing research and development, for example, as a device for observing a person's breast for the early detection of breast cancer (for example, US Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0306865). US Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0306865 discloses a thermal acoustic-type scanning device having a detector in which a plurality of ultrasound transducers are arranged on a container having a spherical surface.    Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2011-183057    Patent Literature 2: US Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0306865    Patent Literature 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2009-165931    Patent Literature 4: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2012-179348